Samuel Bazawule otherwise known as Blitz Bazawule is an American Ghanaian who is a talent to watch.

The renaissance man is an accomplished artist, musician, author and film director. His film, ‘The Burial of Kojo’ was written, directed and produced (co produced by Ama K. Abebrese who also narrated and starred in said film) by him. With reference to the ‘The Burial of Kojo’, it caught the attention of Hollywood’s Ava DuVernay of ARRAY Films, who went on to distribute it. It also caught the attention of none other than Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. Based on this, the duo decided to pick Bazawule to direct the new musical/drama version of much beloved film, ‘The Color Purple’ (the original 1985 film as directed by Steven Spielberg featured Oprah Winfrey, Akosua Busia, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg etc). Prior to this, He also was chosen by Beyonce to be one of the directors of her ‘Black is King’.

In June 2022 his debut book ‘The Scent Of Burnt Flowers’ was released. It has gone on to be featured by The New York Times, chosen as ‘book of the day’ by NPR. It saw Bazawule on ‘Good Morning America’ and ‘The Daily Show’ with Trevor Noah. It has been acquired by FX and there will be a six-episode limited series starring actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and will be produced by MACRO.

He has released bodies of music several times and soundtracks for his film, ‘The Burial of Kojo’ and his book, ‘The Scent Of Burnt Flowers’. Recently his band ‘Embassy Ensemble’ returned back to stage after a three year hiatus. In 2021 he had his first debut art exhibition, ‘A Moment In Time’. The body of artwork was inspired by nostalgia.

Is there anything that Bazawule cannot do? Perhaps not. We look forward to what he does next.

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